CHEManager publishes the latest news and trends from the chemical industry. ChemistryViews is pleased to present this selection of the articles published this month in CHEManager Europe:
► Interview: Anne Kilgore on Eastman’s Heritage of Sustainability
Brandi Schuster spoke with Eastman’s Global Sustainability Director Anne Kilgore about how sustainability affects every aspect of the company’s business, from process improvement to organic and inorganic growth.
► Chemicals: Euro Chlor Highlights Changes in Chlor-Alkali Industry
The industry federation Euro Chlor distributed its 2009–2010 annual report in April at its chlorine technology conference & exhibition under the title, “The spectre of substitution calls for vigilance.” While this holds true for all branches of the chemical industry, the chlorine-alkali sector often finds itself at the center of debate when it comes to issues such as the Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS); many environmental lobby groups have been pushing for a ban on organochlorines, organobromides and PVC for use in electric appliances.
► Chemicals: Carbon Nanotubes in Conductive Coatings
Even if early indications for the existence of carbon nanotubes (CNT) date back to a Russian publication from the 1950s, detailed research on carbon nanotubes is not considered to have really started until 1991. At that time, Prof. Sumio Iijima observed carbon nanotubes with electron microscopy, and a new field of carbon research began. Nowadays, carbon nanotubes are increasingly losing their status as a curiosity. Today’s production capacity has increased enormously over the last few years, and hundreds of tons are produced to satisfy market demand.
► Markets and Companies: Boston Consulting Group On Global Megatrends
The word “megatrend” is a beloved buzzword — but what implications will these trends have on the chemical industry? The Boston Consulting Group’s Udo Jung examines value creation in the industry and offers this warning: “Chemicals companies will not differentiate themselves with colorful pictures in their annual reports and glowing accounts of megatrends’ assumed automatic benefits for their businesses.”
► Chemical Distribution: Three Attractive Markets
The area of life sciences covers nutrition, health and wellness of animals and humans. As such, several segments of this industry are attractive to chemical distributors, in particular pharmaceuticals, food, and cosmetics. Chemical distributors supply these segments with ingredients, additives, excipients and processing aids. From a producer’s perspective, the attractiveness of these segments is typically defined by relevant market size, growth, profitability and sustainability.
